Plan B ideas?

SCnSC

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Aug 15, 2014
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My son is starting his junior year, so it's time to narrow down his list of colleges to apply to. USNA is his first choice, of course, and thanks to a lot of extremely valuable advice we have read on different threads here, he already has many ideas on how to increase his competitiveness (so we are hopeful.)

However, reality is reality and we both know he needs Plan B schools. He has spent a lot of time looking, and there are a lot of schools out there. He is having a hard time narrowing it down to 5 or 6. I personally think having some "real world" advice would help a lot, so I thought I would ask on here.

First of all, he wants to be a pilot while in the military (his first choice is Navy) and he hopes to stay in for 20+ years. He wants to get an Aeronautical Engineering degree, because he wants to be involved with design and development after the military. I believe he would prefer a military college to a civilian college, but of course either way he wants to be in the NROTC.

Does anyone have any advice on which military or civilian colleges he should look into? Are there any Navy pilots or parents who would like to share their school of choice? Any advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
Plan B

it's good to get your son thinking about alternative plans early. Here's the advice I would provide it it were my son and things to be aware of:

1. Neither an appointment to USNA or NROTC is a guarantee. For my son, the later was quite a shocker. He got turned down by NROTC (we still don't know why) but received an appointment to USNA.

2. if his goal is Aeronautical Engr, I would honestly encourage him to look at the very best school he could possibly get in to - that very likely will not be a military school. He always has the option of OCS post graduation if he doesn't get NROTC.

3. 20 years is a long time and while many kids say they plan to stay in for 20 years, things change over time. For this reason I strongly advocate for the best school education they can possibly get. Being a pilot is very different than getting out after military service and getting a design/development job. I would encourage him to do some soul searching and make the prioritized list of what is most important. That will help drive the planning process.

4. And finally as you likely know already, 11th grade (junior year) is the most important year to strive for academic excellence, take AP courses, ace the SAT/ACT tests, etc. Much of the decision process will be based on his academic accomplishments in his junior year.

Good luck.
 
Should also have a plan C school.

A kid I know, real good SAT, graduated top 5 from a good high school, decent leadership, no sports. Figured on his academic credentials to get him into "good" colleges. All the top colleges he applied to rejected him, so ended up going to a in-state school, which was more like his plan C than plan B.
 
Plan "B"

SCnSC....have your son look into colleges like Embry Riddle--they are an Aeronautical Engineering School in both AZ and FL as a possible Plan "B" also colleges like GA Tech, VA Tech..these are great colleges and are well known for their Engineering Degrees.
 
He might also consider Texas A&M and the Corps of Cadets. TAMU has a great engineering school and the Corps is a senior military college within a research university. (For full disclosure, my DD starts in the Corps of Cadets on Wednesday.)
 
Second the recommendation for Virginia Tech, for both the engineering program and NROTC/Corps of Cadets.

Older son went through NROTC at an excellent engineering school. He liked the school but he should have looked more closely at the NROTC detachment because it was not a great option for him. In hindsight he probably should have opted for one of the SMCs because it would have been a better fit, and he admits he would probably have gotten more out of both school and NROTC had he gone that route.
 
Two more schools to consider - Auburn and Ga Tech. I believe both have strong AE and NROTC programs.

DS has friends in both, and knows several Mids in the Auburn NROTC program. One of his buddies is an AE major at Auburn.

bandad
 
Thank you to everyone that replied. Your help really is appreciated.

He was telling me some of the schools he has been looking at and what he considers "must haves" at them. A very strong ROTC is top of his list for civilian schools. He honestly loves his NJROTC experience and everything about the military. He told me when he was in the 2nd grade that he wanted to go into the military. It really shocked me, to be honest. It was totally out of the blue. He'd had zero exposure to the military up to that point. Quite frankly I tried to talk him out of it for years. I have great admiration for the men and women who serve, but the military is dangerous and he was my baby.
But as the years moved on, his determination just became stronger and he fully intended to enlist straight out of high school. I made him promise he would go to college first though, and thankfully the military backs me up on that with the rule that pilots have to have bachelor degrees.
So a strong ROTC is non-negotiable. He is willing to consider a different major, as long as it is compatible to a career in aviation.
 
University of Michigan has a very strong engineering school and DS told me that MIDNs who want pilot usually get pilot. The battalion is 100 strong, roughly 25 from each class; some are from Eastern Michigan University. DS loves it at U of M.
 
University of Michigan has a very strong engineering school and DS told me that MIDNs who want pilot usually get pilot. The battalion is 100 strong, roughly 25 from each class; some are from Eastern Michigan University. DS loves it at U of M.


Thank you for the suggestion. I shared it with him and he is actually on their website right now. :smile:
 
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